adjective
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not fully grown or developed
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deficient in maturity; lacking wisdom, insight, emotional stability, etc
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geography a less common term for youthful
Other Word Forms
- immaturely adverb
- immatureness noun
- immaturity noun
Etymology
Origin of immature
First recorded in 1540–50, immature is from the Latin word immātūrus unripe, hence, untimely. See im- 2, mature
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“They are so delightfully immature that I felt like they were my cousins,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026
Sticky buns feel immature once you have said korvapuusti.
From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026
The result is a man who is emotionally immature, dishonest and unable to take responsibility.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 3, 2026
Rather than saying: “I learned in therapy that you are an emotionally immature parent,” say, “When you did x or y, I felt this.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026
Well, this kind of thing might have been fine at Hailsham, but looked immature at the Cottages.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
